My uncle, Patrick, sent this bumper sticker:
and Stephen Moore wrote in last Thursday’s WSJ Political Diary:
Rep. David Camp, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, asked the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the economic impact of the new $800 billion stimulus plan. On Monday CBO came back with its astonishing reply: The whole thing is a net long-term negative for the economy.
CBO does say there will be a “positive near-term effect” over the next couple of years as GDP rises from the deluge of spending and debt. But, the agency adds, “the legislation will reduce output slightly in the long run.”
The report also says the package of spending could have had a constructive long-term impact only if “it permanently changes incentives to work and save.” Does it? In the words of CBO director Douglas Elmendorf, “the legislation will not” provide any such incentives. And remember: The CBO is run by the Democrats, Mr. Elmendorf was selected by the Democrats, the Democrats can get rid of him if they wish, and even he says the plan will make America poorer.
